William M.

United Nations – Nearly three months after East Timor's independence, the UN mission in the fledgling southeast Asian nation is on course to finish its work and shut down in two years,

Kupang – East Timorese refugees sheltering in a number of camps in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province will celebrate in a modest way Indonesia's 57th independence day on August 17.

Jakarta – East Timorese refugees are to vacate camps across East Nusa Tenggara by August 31, the deadline set for them to leave the shelter and receive government assistance to return t

Dili – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao said Tuesday any trial for the murder of Dutch journalist Sander Thoenes should be held in his country.

Kuala Lumpur – East Timor took control of its legal system from United Nations administrators too soon and weakness of the judiciary is hurting investor confidence, Foreign Minister Jos

East Timor government officials attending meetings at this week's Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji say they are not supporting the campaign by Papuan separatists.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Indonesia is due to deliver on Wednesday its first verdict in landmark trials over violence linked to East Timor's bloody independence vote in 1999, but many w

Dmli – The National Parliament of Timor approved and ratified today to adhesion from Timor to the International Criminal Court (TPI), with 70 votes to favor and barely an abstention, of

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia offered East Timor Monday assistance ranging from education to military training during a visit by the fledgling nation's Prime Minister, Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The threat of violence is imminent in East Nusa Tenggara province as residents in North Central Timor Regency have objected to the presence of more East Timore

Camillo Fracassini – The suspected killers of a Scottish journalist murdered in East Timor 27 years ago have escaped a war crimes trial in the UK, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

Jakarta – Civilians slaughtered as they hid in churches. Independence leaders assassinated in their homes. Entire villages burned to the ground.

Paul Toohey – East Timor's 40-odd lawyers are on strike. The judges and registry staff have all gone home.

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, seeking political detente, held a first meeting Friday to discuss "sensitive" policy issues before government act

Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors lacked evidence to lay charges against powerful former armed forces commander General Wiranto over the violence in East Timor, the country's former atto

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A pro-Jakarta East Timorese leader told the Rights Tribunal on Thursday that the Indonesian Military (TNI) did nothing to stop armed militias from attacking the

President Xanana Gusmao and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri urged East Timor's students Thursday to aid the new nation's reconstruction and development through "mature" and "constructive"

Jakarta – A former militia boss accused of inciting a massacre in East Timor in 1999 on Thursday denied allegations by a compatriot that he had ordered his men to attack pro-independenc

Atambua – The Belu district military command on Thursday succeeded in foiling an attempt to smuggle around 1.8 tons of kerosene to East Timor.

President Xanana Gusmao Wednesday defended his controversial request for an Indonesian court trying human rights crimes committed in East Timor to show clemency in one case, saying he w

Jakarta – A leading former East Timorese independence supporter wept Wednesday as he recalled the death of his son in a 1999 militia attack on his refugee-packed home in Dili.

East Timorese government and UN officials held a fourth, unannounced round of reconciliation and repatriation talks with former anti-independence militia chief Joao Tavares Tuesday in t

Jakarta – The former mayor of the East Timor capital Dili denied Tuesday that pro-Jakarta militia groups during Indonesian rule received any aid from the government or the military.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Former East Timor independence leader Manuel Viegas Carrascalao told the Human Rights Tribunal on Monday that the Indonesian Military did nothing to prevent the

Police have detained two Sri Lankan men in Dili on "strong" suspicion they were working as an advance team for an illegal immigration network apparently linked to the arrival in East Ti

Dili – Students clashed with police Tuesday in East Timor over plans to increase fees at the new country's main university.

Phil Zabriskie, Jakarta – For a man facing the death penalty, Eurico Guterres doesn't look anxious.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Fifty-six Sri Lankan asylum-seekers who landed in East Timor en route to New Zealand in a 14 metre fishing boat will be prevented from continuing their journey

Atambua – Communities on both sides, namely the people of Turiskain, Haekesak sub-district, Belu district, West Nusa Tenggara and the people of East Timor, have been asked to refrain fr

John Aglionby – East Timor's president, Xanana Gusmao, has unexpectedly pleaded for a non-custodial sentence in the trial of the former Indonesian-appointed governor, Abilio Soares, who

Craig Skehan, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei – East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri last night denied his government had tried to link negotiations on sharing oil and gas revenues to

[Australia and East Timor are squaring off for their first serious disagreement, government-to-government.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – At least 5,700 East Timorese who have chosen to stay in Indonesia threatened on Tuesday to snub the 2004 general election to protest the government's failure t

Tim Dodd, Bandar Seri Begawan – East Timor has asked Australia to take over part of its maritime security in a new treaty that would substantially increase the ocean area in which the t

Bruce Hextall – East Timor's latest proposal in the sharing of the Timor Sea's vast oil and gas reserves could be viewed as a positive step in resolving some of the issues now subject t

Mario Osava, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil will provide assistance in a wide range of areas to help rebuild East Timor, the world's newest nation and one of its poorest, whose first president

Jose Belo, Dili – Although it's one of Asia's poorest nations, East Timor is open to receiving 56 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers stranded on a boat in its capital's harbor, its acting foreig

Jakarta – Five senior police and military officers charged with allowing a church massacre to take place in the former Indonesian province of East Timor pleaded innocent on Tuesday.

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has ruled out immediate membership for East Timor, the world's newest country, officials said Tuesday.

Vietnam and East Timor have established diplomatic relations in a brief ceremony the eve of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers' annual meeting in Brunei.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has again extended the deadline for the repatriation of East Timorese refugees living in squalid camps in West Timor.

Peter Kammerer – Relations with Indonesia are progressing strongly, with issues such as the return of refugees to be settled within months, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said yester

The diplomat who nursed East Timor to nationhood is the new UN Human Rights Commissioner. Jill Jolliffe recalls his reign in Dili.

East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta says the legal framework needed to attract foreign investment will be established by the end of this year.

The head of the UN mission in East Timor met Friday with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri for discussions aimed to "consolidate and intensify" relations between Dili and Jakar

President Xanana Gusmao vetoed the East Timorese government's tax-hiking fiscal bill Friday, in his second clash this month with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri over financial and economic

Emad Mekay, Washington – Two very distinct welcomes have greeted the newest member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF): free-market advice from the Fund and World Bank and warnings

Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors have demanded a prison sentence of more than 10 years for East Timor's former police chief, saying he did nothing to prevent or to halt militia massacre

East Timor formally joined the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Tuesday, with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri describing the event in Washington as "an important day for us, a hi